Gomorra La Serie, episode 103

“The Mother and Home”

Pietro arrives at a jail that is apparently somewhere other than Naples. The warden is a no-nonsense man, but one of the guards, Rino, is an ally. The boss is a celebrity in the block and one of his cellmates, Antonio, is an old friend and a willing butler. Pietro bonds with Pasqualino, a young man who’s been charged with robbing a jewelry store. “I bet we held up the same asshole, 30 years apart,” says Pietro.

With Conte hiding in Spain, the gang tries to poach his contacts in the cocaine trade. Rino smuggles a cell phone to Pietro, who sets up a later call with Conte’s contacts. They tell Ciro that they need direct communication with Pietro before they switch allegiances. An unsuspected room inspection and resulting solitary confinement keep Pietro away from his phone. The deal falls through.

Pietro has a group of followers and can start protests at will, but he has to deal with inconveniences that the warden has set. Still, Pietro is in good spirits when Imma and Genny visit. He gives a specific task and some encouragement to Genny. The boss also has fatherly interest in Pasqualino, but the young man is despondent when he returns from court and reveals that he’s been given a 10-year sentence.

At night when everyone else is sleeping, Pietro realizes that Pasqualino has barricaded himself in the kitchenette-washroom of their cell. The boss wakes the others and tells someone to alert the guards. The group forces the door open and they find Pasqualiano hanging from a window grate. The guards bring a doctor, but the young man can’t be revived.

Chauffeured by Ciro, Genny and Imma arrive at the jail. They bypass a long line of vistors with help from Tonino, Genny’s friend and apparent gangster-in-training. Genny, who sports a bandage on his head and a cast on his arm, gets instruction from his father: take the family’s money to Musi, their accountant, and tell him to keep it liquid. Genny also gets anointed as The Man of the House.

Genny and Ciro later drive away in the Maserati, presumably without resistance from Musi. Quizzed by Ciro, Genny affirms that they own everything that Musi enjoys. Satisfied with his protégé’s attitude, the mentor declares that the two of them are unbeatable. With renewed confidence and self-entitlement, Genny later meets Noemi at a nightclub. “I feel like a king tonight, want to be my queen?” he asks.

Spurred by his friends, Genny drives Noemi to Tonino’s apartment. He leads her to a balcony that overlooks a courtyard. Instruments and speakers have been set up, and his friends unfurl a heart-shaped stage. Soon a popular singer, Alessio, arrives to the amazement of Noemi. Genny relays her song request to Alessio, and after the singer asks, Genny tells the crowd that he dedicates the song to her, his father, and even Conte.

Later that night, Genny brings Noemi to the Savastano home. Imma is unhappy with her son for returning late, being intoxicated, and bringing a girl. Possibly drunk on love and certainly drunk on alcohol, Genny reminds his mother that according his father, he’s now The Man of the House.

Thoughts

This episode didn’t have a legit plot twist like the other two episodes. Pasqualino committing suicide didn’t count because, based on the preview, I knew that somebody was going to die in the jail. I thought that Pietro was going to die, though.

The jail is different from the ones shown in American movies and shows. It has strip searches for new inmates, but they wear their own clothes, make their own meals, and live in barracks-like cells. Visitors bring outside food and they aren’t separated from inmates, either. On the other hand, there’s solitary confinement and blast doors for every cell. It could be more of a detention facility than a federal prison, but it’s more lenient than expected.

Musi investing in government bonds will backfire in some way. In the previous episode, he mentions that his decision to stay liquid has paid off; Pietro probably makes his decision in this episode based on Musi’s previous success. Musi and Genny could both face consequences if the investment fails. In any case, Pietro will have to fix things.

Now, I doubt that Pietro will die by suicide; he’s more resilient and stable in captivity than I’ve expected, but his death is still a real possibility. One possible clue is a still photo that I’ve seen showing Ciro, Imma, and a different-looking Genny sitting in the front row of a crowd. Pietro isn’t shown, so it could be his funeral.

The younger Savastano could die. I’ve seen other stills of a slimmer, mohawk-sporting Genny, who’s started to show more boldness. The coming physical transformation could be a reflection of a further and serious change in character. I’ve also noticed thumbnails on YouTube for interviews and a show reel featuring the actor, which lead me to think that his involvement in the show is over because his character dies in this season.

I think that plot threads from the previous two episodes, namely the drug war with Conte and the government co-operation of Ciro, will return. I can see Pietro, Genny, or both, dying because of these conflicts.